Body odour can cause extreme embarrassment if it’s not addressed properly.
Once you understand the source of body odour it’s easier to find the best ways to fight it.
WHAT CAUSES BODY ODOUR
Body odor is caused by bacteria breaking down sweat and is largely linked to the apocrine glands. Most body odor comes from these.
These glands are found in the breasts, genital area, eyelids, armpits, and ear.
Fresh sweat,which is an odourless fluid. When akin bacteria present in the axilla metabolizes (i.e. break down) certain components of the sweat, such as lipids and proteins, the malodour evolves.
Your armpit has the ideal conditions for skin bacteria to grow. This is due to the moist conditions, the higher pH and the optimal nutrient supply by sweat and sebum glands in this area.
WHY DO WE SWEAT?
Sweat glands occur all over the body, but are most numerous on the forehead, the armpits, the palms and the soles of the feet. Sweat is mainly water, but it also contains some salts.
Sweat is your body's way of cooling you down. When your body starts to sense that it's overheating, it starts sweating as a way to control its temperature. By promoting heat loss through evaporation, sweat helps regulate our body temperature.
Does sweating detox your body?
The body does appear to sweat out toxic materials — heavy metals and bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in plastics, for instance, have been detected in sweat. But there’s no evidence that sweating out such toxins improves health.
BODY ODOUR
CAUSES AND TIPS FOR PREVENTION.
CAUSES:
GENETICS
The microorganisms on our skin that react with the sweat our bodies produce which result in body odour is determined by our genes, so it is likely that if your mother or father has strong body odour, you will too. The best way to combat this is to shower regularly, and wear breathable clothing made of cotton or linen to reduce your sweating and minimize body odour. Applying antiperspirant/deodorant help a lot. But from my own experience antiperspirant/deodorant didn't work for me at all.
I will be sharing some of the things you can use apart from antiperspirant/deodorant before the end of this article,and they work perfectly.
HORMONAL CHANGES
Your monthly cycle, pregnancy, menopause, and puberty can cause hormonal fluctuations and thus increase your core body temperature causing you to sweat more. Women in particular may experience an increase in sweating after pregnancy as the body releases excess fluid as hormone levels return to normal.
BODY ODOUR
CAUSES AND TIPS FOR PREVENTION
Body odour is a great source of frustration and embarrassment for many of us, and it’s important to understand what causes it and what we can do to help combat it. Some of us sweat more than others.
So, what are the main causes of body odour?
1. GENETICS
The microorganisms on our skin that react with the sweat our bodies produce which result in body odour is determined by our genes, so it is likely that if your mother or father has strong body odour, you will too. The best way to combat this is to shower regularly, and wear breathable clothing made of cotton or linen to reduce your sweating and minimize body odour. Applying antiperspirant/deodorant help a lot.
2. HORMONAL CHANGES
Your monthly cycle, pregnancy, menopause, and puberty can cause hormonal fluctuations and thus increase your core body temperature causing you to sweat more. Women in particular may experience an increase in sweating after pregnancy as the body releases excess fluid as hormone levels return to normal.
Tips to help deal with your hormonal sweating:
Be aware of when hormonal swings. Core body temperature naturally increases around 9 p.m, so making sure your bedroom is kept cool and buying breathable bedding will help with your body odour.
Take a warm bath before bed. This will lower your core body temperature and combined with a cool bedroom, help to prevent hormonal sweating.
Plan your clothing. During the day try to layer your clothing so that you can easily remove things like long sleeves should you begin to sweat.
3. EMOTIONAL SWEATING
During my time battling with body odour this was one of the things that always spoil my day when am seeing people or around with people or friends.
When you're nervous, scared, agitated or in pain you produce more sweat from those body odour releasing sweat glands than the sweat you produce when your body is trying to cool itself down.
Tips to help deal with your emotional sweating:
Relaxation exercises: This will help to eliminate the effects of stress by breathing down, deeply and slowing for a few minutes each day.
Calm music: This reduces heart rate and slows down breathing.
Laughter: This helps to combat feelings of stress therefore reducing emotions related sweating.
Trust me after following this tips you begin to love yourself more, the laughter part actually worked wonders for me in my life. I got used to it that even now a days I can't just stop laughing especially when I am with friends sweet.
SOME TYPES OF FOODS YOU EAT.
Foods that are fat soluble, dissolve into your body's fatty tissue and your sweat smellier. Avoid refined sugar, white flour, hydrogenated oils and other processed foods. Avoid red meat because it releases many toxins into the blood stream. Avoid foods that lack fiber. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, cumin and garlic.
5 Simple Steps to Prevent Body Odor.
When you are performing physical activities, walking under the sun, or in a warm room – it’s completely normal to sweat. Everyone sweats. But the smell that sometimes accompanies sweat can be very embarrassing, especially when you are with friends and loved ones.
To prevent your body from smelling and avoid the embarrassment of body odor you should solve the problem of its root cause called: bacteria.
Here are some tips to prevent body odor so you can stay fresh and smell good every day.
- Shower Regularly with Antibacterial Soap
Wash away sweat and odors causing bacteria by taking regular baths or showers like 2 times everyday morning and nights before going to bed. Be sure to use antibacterial soap as these are designed and proven to remove odors causing bacteria.
Take time to thoroughly wash areas of the body that are more prone to sweating such as underarms and feet. Dry yourself thoroughly to prevent bacteria from breeding on skin.
- Use Antiperspirants or Deodorants
Antiperspirants perspiration and sweat, while deodorants mask the smell of odor-causing bacteria. To help avoid body odor, apply some antiperspirant or deodorant in the morning and before bedtime. If you can't find a product that best suits you, consult with your doctor.
As I said before I will share with you other things to use to fight body odour apart from Antiperspirant/deodorant.
How to stop body odour Naturally without using antiperspirant.
1. Try mixing 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking soda with a little bit of water — don't dissolve it and rub it under your arms. You can also create a baking soda and cornstarch mix to fight odor and help prevent wetness. Simply mix one part baking soda with six parts cornstarch and dust a little on your underarms.
2. Got a lemon in your kitchen? Rub it on your armpits (but don't forget to throw it out after). The citric acid in lemon can help kill bacteria and odor.
3. Create your own blend of deodorant using your favorite essential oils. " Oils such as bergamot, blood orange, clove, cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, and even florals for women such as ylang ylang, lavender, cypress, and geranium are very good at eliminating odor, and they are also antibacterial and prevent sweating.
4. The alcohol in sanitizer gels may theoretically kill some of the bacteria on the skin surface, which is contributing to the formation of body odor," says Shainhouse. "Use this option in a pinch, but longer-term use will absolutely dry out the skin and cause irritation."
- Do Your Laundry
Bacteria can easily accumulate and breed on used clothes, and unpleasant odor can stick when they not washed properly. Be sure to regularly wash your clothes, so the awful smell from odor-causing bacteria doesn’t stick.
In the end, the best way to prevent body odor is to maintain proper hygiene.
Prevent bacteria build-up through frequent showering and hand washing with antibacterial soap like Safeguard, Dettol soap, Pure White Bar, Body Wash, and Liquid Hand Soap to gain Great smell, long-lasting protection against odor-causing bacteria for up to 24 hours.
If all else fails, consult with your doctor if the problem persists to ask for prescriptions that can help you stop body odor.
Some frequently asked questions and answers about the use of Antiperspirant and deodorants:-
IS IT HARMFUL TO INHIBIT PERSPIRATION BY THE USE OF ANTIPERSPIRANTS?
The thermo regulation of the body is not affected by the use of antiperspirants. The underarm areas add up to 200 cm2, which is only about 1% of the whole-body surface.
Therefore, this area is much too small to interfere with thermoregulation. The safety of anti-perspirants has been proven in many surveys and their use in cosmetic products is approved.
CAN THE USE OF DEODORANTS CAUSE WHITE RESIDUES ON FABRIC?
Some deodorants, more precisely antiperspirants, which contain aluminum salts, e.g. aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH), are able to leave white residues on clothes under specific conditions if not applied correctly.
When using antiperspirant sprays it is important to shake the product well to ensure that the aluminum chlorohydrate powder is evenly distributed in the can and accordingly on the skin. In order to avoid white residue, all antiperspirant products must be fully absorbed or dried sufficiently on the skin before putting on clothes. Usually white residues on clothes can be removed by brushing.
CAN THE USE OF DEODORANTS CAUSE YELLOW STAINS IN TEXTILES?
Yellow staining bases on a complex interaction of skin lipids, sebum, sweat components, laundry detergent and antiperspirant active. Several factors are involved, including the frequency of application, amount of antiperspirant product used, frequency of changing clothes, intensity of washing clothes, individual composition of sweat, content of minerals or trace elements in the tap water and the constitution of the fabric itself.
The best way to reduce yellow stains in your clothes is to let the deodorant product dry completely before putting on clothes.
However, it is important to note that yellow stains may occur also without presence of any antiperspirant ingredients, similar to a yellow stained collar, where skin lipids together with dirt particles of the air cause persistent stains which cannot be removed easily anymore. In some cases, staining is associated with bleeding of fabric dyes.
CAN THE USE OF DEODORANTS CAUSE COLOURED STAINS (E.G. GREEN, BROWN, RED BLUE) IN TEXTILES?
The development of colored stains in textiles is similar to yellow staining. The concrete color of stains might be influenced by trace metals in the tap water (e.g. copper, manganese, iron). In some cases the color impressions might also be influenced by fluorescent whitening agents (optical brighteners). Coloured stains on light-coloured clothes might also appear when a coloured piece of clothes worn beneath or above looses dye due to bleeding. This process often occurs if the dyed material is not sweat-proof.
WHAT CAN I DO TO REMOVE YELLOWISH STAINS?
Existing yellow stains cannot be removed or reduced by frequent / repeated washing of clothes; sometimes the washing can even solidify the stains. In case of stains, rinse your clothes in cold water before washing them with laundry detergent. In many cases we were successful to remove the stains by soaking the clothes in 5 % citric acid for approximately 24 hours. Very important: Rinse the clothes with clear water before washing them at the highest possible temperature. Still, we can’t guarantee that for all stains and clothes the given procedure will be successful. Be careful with delicate and colorful fabrics and with clothes with buttons of “mother-of-pearl” as the acid solution can damage them.
Warning: Be aware that citric acid is slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant, sensitizer), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion and of inhalation (irritant). Skin contact can produce inflammation and blistering. Tissue damage is dependent on length of contact.
For this reason, we highly recommend to wear protective gloves when handling citric acid and to not breathe in citric acid dust.
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